Catherine colgan



O. GOL'GAN.

(No Model.)

SKIRT.

No. 477,833. Patented'June 233, 1892.

I l/VVEAITOI? Cdkerz we COZ Q'I WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY.

mom-urn UNITED STATES CATHERINE COLGAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO LOUIS DRYFOOS,

PATENT omen.

OF SAME PLACE.

SKIRT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471833, dated June 28, 1892. Application filed August8, 1891. Serial No. 402,063. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: Y I

Be it known that I, CATHERINE COLGAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ladies Dresses and Skirts, of which the following is a specification;

Heretofore in the making of garments'of these kinds the waistbands have either been made of the proper length to fit the waists of the wearers at the particular time, with no provlslon made for enlarging or reducing them to adapt them to the wearers in the event of their waists becoming larger or smaller, or else such bands have been made of a size to fit the smallest waists and have each been provided with one or more elastic gores whereby to permit of their enlargement and contraction to adapt them to waists of larger sizes. In all cases with which I have been previously acquainted the only way in which the waistbands of the former class could be enlarged or reduced to adapt them to fit waists of different sizes was eitherby inserting a piece in them or else by taking one out, as the exigencies of case might require, while in the latter class, the waistbands being made to fit the smallest-sized waists, this adaptation was efiected by the yielding and elastic properties inherent in the gores themselves. These modes of manufacture, while practicable to a certain extent with dresses or skirts that are made up plain or without ornamentation, have been found objectionable in practice when plaits and various other forms of ornamentation are employed, principally because of the fact that when such plaits or ornamentations are used it becomes necessary to dispose the former and the parts of the latterin a symmetrical relation with respect to the front, the back, or the sides of the dress or skirt, and when the waistband is afterward enlarged or reduced in size, as may sometimes be required, this symmetrical relation is destroyed, requiring a rearrangement of the plaits or parts of the ornamentation with respect to the altered condition of the band that can only be effected by remov ingthe lower portion of the dress or the body or'reduced in length to the proper size and the plaits or parts of the ornamentation rearranged with especial reference thereto.

The object of my invention is to obviate this objection and provide means whereby the enlargement or contraction of the waistband may be readily accomplished to suit it to the waist of the wearer at all times, whether larger or smaller, without in any way affect- .ing the symmetrical arrangement of the plaits or parts of the ornamentation of the dress or skirt with respect thereto.

' To this end my invention consists'in the construction and combination of parts, as will hereinafter be described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a dress or skirt constructed in accordance with my invention; and Figs. 2 and 3, similar views of such garment, but showing slightly-modified constructions of the parts to which my invention more particularly relates.

In all the figures likeletters of reference are employed to designate corresponding parts.

A indicates the body or lower portion of a dress or skirt, which may be made of any preferred material and in any of the wellknown forms and styles. ,The form, however, that I have selected for the exemplification of my invention is that in which the rear or back is provided with a slit or placket aand is ornamented with a series of longitudinal plaits A. -Attached to the upper end of this portion A by stitching or otherwise is the belt or wastband B, by means of which the dress or skirt may be secured around the waist of the wearer when desired. This belt or waistband, instead of being made of a length equal to the width of the portion of the dress or skirt to which it is attached, as is usual, is made of a length somewhat greater than such width, inorder to provide an end I), that extends some distance beyond the edge of the slit or placket a and co-operates with fastening devices, whereby provision is made not only for securely holding the dress or skirt upon the person of the wearer when placed thereon, but also for adapting the belt or waistband to waists of different sizes. The fastening devices for co-operating with this end 6 may be of various forms. In Fig. 1 I have shown them as composed of a buckle c, which is secured to the end I) of the'belt or waistband B and engages with the other end I), while in Fig. 2 I have illustrated them as consisting of a button 0' and button-holes c 0 while again in Fig. 3 I have shown them as composed of an eye a and hooks c c, the button and eye in the last two forms being arranged upon the corresponding end of the belt or waistband as the buckle c and the button-holes and hooks being respectively formed in or carried by the end b. Any of these forms of fastening devices may be employed, I prefer, however, to make use of the buckle c, as a more secure fastening for the belt orwaistband is insured and a greater facility of adjustment of the waistband to waists of different sizes afforded.

With some kinds of material the portionA may be formed without a lining, in which event the material composing the same will be made up in the proper sh ape and style and secured to the belt or waistband in the usual way. In most cascs,however, it will be found desirable to provide it with a lining or foundationvskirt O, which is secured to the belt or waistband on the inside of the portion A, and; is suitably faced or otherwise ornamented on its lower outer edge, all as is common in garmer ts of this class. The. portion of the dress or skirt which is provided with the back or- 'namentation is preferably-made as a separate piece D and is secured to the portion A from its lower end up. to about the point w 00 by stitching or otherwise, its upper portion being independent of the dresser skirt and pro.-

vided with means whereby it may be adj ustably attached to the belt or waistband B and overlie and covernp the slit. or placket a. To. effect this attachment of the upper end of the piece D to. the belt or waistband B,.I employ the strip or band E, which is secured to the former by stitching or otherwise, and is provided with free ends d for co-operation with devices secured to the waistband B at some distance from its ends, whereby to permit not only-of attachment to said waistband, but; also of being adjusted thereon. In Fig. 1

these devices consist of the buckles e e, while 5 in Fig. 2 they are composed of the buttons 8 c and the buttonholes (2 6 while yet in Fig.

3 they consist of the hooks e e and eyes e 6 i the buttonholes e and the hooks c lm the last two figures being respectively formed in or secured to the ends d of the strip or band E.

The ornamentation of theback pieceD may be of various forms and designs. In the d rawings I have shown it as. composed of two groups of plaits A A', one of which groups is arranged upon one side of acentral line passing longitudinally of the piece and the other on the other side thereof in symmetrical relation thereto; but it is obvious that other arrangements of such plaits may be made and that other forms of ornamentation may be substituted in lieu of the plaits, it only being essential that whatever its character the parts of such ornamentation be arranged in proper relation to a central line passing longitudinally of the piece.

Although inthe drawings I have shown the piece D as arranged upon the back of the dress or skirt, and'such is the position in which I prefer to employ it, yet it will be understood that if the exigencies of the style of ornamentation requires the same may be disposed in other relation without departing from the spirit of my invention.

With a dress or skirt made as above described the waistband is adapted to waists of different sizes, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 1, the full lines in that figure showing the band adapted to a larger waist and the broken lines therein a, similar adaptation to a smaller waist.

In applying the dress or skirt to the person of the wearer, the upper end of the piece D will be disconnected from the waistband B, and such waistband adjusted and secured to the waist of the wearer. The. upper end of the piece D will then be adjusted to the requirements of the dress or skirt by moving it to the right orleft to the required extent and attaching it, to the waistband by its fastening devices, the buckles 6 eV in the 1 one case and the buttons c e and buttonholes 6 e and the hooks c c and eyes e e'*, j respectively, in the others, permitting of this 1 adjustment and seeurement being readily effected.

By the above arrangement, as will be seen, I produce a, dress or skirt which is adapted to fit waists of different, sizes, and at the same ltime permit of the adjustment of the back i or other ornamentation into symmetrical re: 1 lation with respect to the back or other pertion of the garment, without necessitating the removal of such ornamentation from the back or other piece and its rearrangement, thereon. The range of adjustment of the belt or i waistband being several inches, its capability ,tofit the altered conditions of the waist of E the wearer at all times will be seen.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desiretosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is.-

A skirt havinga placket attheappropriate place therein and provided with awaistband somewhat longer than the width of the per- 1 tion to. which it is to. be attached, and means for adj ustably securing the free end of said E band in diiferent positions of adjustment, combined with a. strip. constituting the drape-ry, said strip; being attached at its lower 1 portion to the skirt, but having its upper portion free and being adjustably and detach- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set ably secured at its upper end to said waistmyhand this 5th day of August, 1891. band, so as to overlie and cover the placket and be capable of movement to the right or CATHERINE COLGAN' 5 left thereof to bring it into symmetrical re- Witnesses:

lation with respect to the other parts of the L. DRYFOOS,

skirt, substantially as set forth. GEO. TREFCER. 

